His Excellency[1] The Most Honourable
Sir Arthur Foulkes
ON, GCMG
Foulkes c. 2000
9th Governor-General of the Bahamas
In office
14 April 2010 – 7 July 2014
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterHubert Ingraham
Perry Christie
Preceded byA.D. Hanna
Succeeded byDame Marguerite Pindling
Personal details
Born
Arthur Alexander Foulkes

(1928-05-11) 11 May 1928
Matthew Town, Inagua, The Bahamas
Political partyProgressive Liberal Party (before 1971)
Free National Movement (1971–present)
SpouseJoan Eleanor Foulkes

Sir Arthur Alexander Foulkes, ON, GCMG (born 11 May 1928)[2] is a politician who was the ninth governor-general of the Bahamas from 2012 to 2014.[3]

Foulkes was elected to the House of Assembly in 1967 and served in the government of Lynden Pindling as Minister of Communications and Minister of Tourism.[4] In 1971, he was co-founder of the Free National Movement, and he was appointed to the Senate in 1972 and 1977 before returning to the House of Assembly in 1982.[4]

Early life

Foulkes, a native of the Bahamas, was born on the island of Inagua in Matthew Town on 11 May 1928.[5] His parents were Dr. William and Mrs. Julie (née Maisonneuve) Foulkes.[5] Foulkes is married to the former Joan Eleanor Bullard of Nassau.[5]

Career

Newspaper career

Viceregal styles of
Sir Arthur Foulkes
(2012–2014)
Reference styleHis Excellency
Spoken styleYour Excellency

Foulkes started his working life as a newspaper linotype operator, first at the Nassau Guardian, then at the competing Tribune newspaper.[5] He became a reporter for Tribune's editor Sir Étienne Dupuch, rising to become News Editor of Tribune.[5] From 1962 to 1967, Foulkes was founding editor of Bahamian Times, the official paper of the Progressive Liberal Party, backing the campaign for majority rule, and later a columnist for Nassau Guardian and Tribune.[5]

Political career

In 1967, he was elected to Parliament and, the following year, appointed to serve in the Cabinet as Minister of Communications, then as Minister of Tourism.[4] He was one of the founders of the Free National Movement in 1971.[4] He was appointed to the Senate in 1972 and 1977, and re-elected to the House of Assembly in 1982.[4] In 1972, Foulkes was one of the four Opposition delegates to the Bahamas Independence Constitution Conference in London in 1972.[4]

In 1992, Foulkes became the Bahamas' High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, serving also as ambassador to France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and the European Union,[5] before becoming the first Bahamian ambassador to China and Cuba in 1999.[4][5] Foulkes was sworn in as Governor-General of the Bahamas on 14 May 2010,[4] retiring on 7 July 2014.[3]

Honours and awards

Foulkes was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (KCMG) in 2001; he was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the same Order (GCMG) in 2011.[4] In 2018, he was invested with the Order of the Nation (ON) by the then Governor General Marguerite Pindling.[6]

References

  1. ↑ His Excellency Sir Arthur Foulkes - official website of the Government of The Bahamas
  2. ↑ Profile of Sir Arthur Foulkes
  3. 1 2 "Bahamas New Governor General Announced". The Bahamas Weekly. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Governor-General appointed to Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Governor General's Youth Awards: Our Patron Archived March 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Biographies of 2019 Bahamian Exchange Features - website of electronic publishing platform issuu
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